Errors in Judgement
by EternalLoveZeki
Summary: Yuuki takes her boyfriend to meet her brother. She regrets her decision.


Yuuki had always liked the little café tucked neatly away in an obscured alleyway approximately two streets away from where she lived. She had been coming here since she had discovered its existence two years previously in order to escape the hectic grind of day to day life. She had made many a happy memory here with her best friend, Yori. She had made new friends that she would never have met any other way. Because of this, she felt a twinge of sadness that her memories of the pleasant little building would be tainted by this encounter.

Bringing her boyfriend to meet her brother had been, quite frankly, a mistake. She had felt a hint of this when the evening had begun; she had felt said boyfriend stiffen next to her, grip on her hand briefly tightening. The feeling solidified into certainty when her brother had greeted him with, "Kiryuu. You've decided to adjust to civilised society."

"And you've descended to the level of us mere mortals, I see." Yuuki had attempted to alleviate the icy cold atmosphere that had settled between them to no avail. They had sat together inside, taking a rounded table in the centre of the room. Kaname and Zero deliberately spoke only to her, despite her every effort to get them to speak to each other, exchanging the occasional barb with each other.

Yuuki could have coped with this, until a certain topic of conversation prompted her _darling_ brother to bring the evening to a screeching halt.

"I wouldn't be surprised if you were involved in his killing."

The screeching of a chair being rapidly evacuated caught both boys' attention immediately, along with the rest of the cafe. Despite the eyes on her, Yuuki glared down at her stunned brother.

"How dare you? I get that you don't like Zero, but to stoop so low as to accuse him of murder? I thought you trusted my judgement better than that!" Yuuki grabbed her boyfriend's sleeve, "Let's go. This was a stupid idea."

Yuuki had always idolised her older brother since he had come back into her life ten years ago, when she had hit nine. She had always thought that he had been a kind and moral being, as he had always protected and loved her, and she didn't want that image to be burnt away. But since she had met Zero, she had noticed how Kaname would cruelly manipulate his friends to his own ends. Hell, she had noticed that he had manipulated her on occasion. She had always chalked it down to his need to protect her, but Zero had always managed to protect her without making her feel like a child…

She gave Kaname one more hurt look before she tugged Zero out of the café. Sure, Zero wasn't an angel. He had gotten into plenty of fights when he was younger, but he had grown past that. He didn't want to cause serious harm to anything. He was far too kind for that.

"You're regretting that outburst, aren't you?"

"No… I just…thought he was better than that…" She mumbled, her hurt betrayal clear in her voice.

"He's only human, Yuuki."

"He accused you of murder!"

"Only of being involved in it…"

"You don't need to defend him!" Yuuki turned to face her far too kind boyfriend. He was defending a man who was clearly an enemy of his for her sake. The love she felt for Zero surged. Somehow, she didn't think that Kaname would have done the same had she fought with Zero, given the tone he had taken whenever he fired an insult at him…

"Whatever happens, Yuuki, he's your brother. He's looking out for you. In his own way." She felt herself tugged into a protective hug as her tears threatened to overflow. She quickly fisted her hands in his shirt, holding him as close as he was holding her.

How had she worried that this man would leave her over this? Over finding out that her brother was willing to be so cruel? Yes, she had worried that her brother's bad behaviour would reflect badly on her. She saw now how foolish she had been. Zero would never hold her accountable for someone else's actions.

"Just apologise to him." He mumbled affectionately in her ear. She knew that he hated seeing her like this.

"No way! He was out of line!"

"Don't let this cause a rift between you two. I don't want to be the cause of your bond breaking." Yuuki smiled gently despite her tears, squeezing him affectionately.

"You wouldn't be the cause…" She mumbled. The more he spoke, the more certain she became that she had made the right choice. She was glad that her schoolgirl crush (a feeling which had definitely evolved since she had started dating him) had been on her cool and attractive upperclassman.

"I'll be right here. No matter what you decide to do, I'll be waiting for you." She felt her face heat up at his loving statement. It was at this point that any doubts Yuuki had about their future melted away. He had a way of making her happy, no matter what the situation. For someone who would so rarely speak before, he certainly had a way with words. Yes, she was certain that one day, she would marry this man, and spend the rest of her life with him.

"I'll go talk to him. But not tonight. I want to stay with you tonight." She wanted Kaname to have time to think about what she'd said, before she tried to mend fences with him. Her fingers tangled in Zero's hair as she met him in a loving kiss.

A few days later, Yuuki knocked confidently on Kaname's door. Despite her previous (foolish, she realised) idolisation of her brother, she was determined to make her point heard and not be swayed by his overprotective and frankly manipulative nature. She would not apologise before he did.

He would eat his words, and he would get to know Zero as well as she knew him. Even if he never liked him (he was her boyfriend after all; she didn't expect Kaname to ever warm to him), she would ensure that he knew of his kind-hearted nature. She would show him his folly.

The door opened, and she assertively strode through.


End file.
